Doctor Who: The Door
by James Serbus
Summary: When is a door not a door? When it's an inter-dimensional portal to places unknown
1. Intro

**Chapter I**

**1**

For almost sixteen years, Michael Burns knew the end would come. 3/3/2033. Why did he know this? What would happen? Why him? He asked himself these questions daily but, not knowing the answer himself he never received an answer.

Being haunted by the knowledge of the end, he spent most of his days in his third story apartment, listening to music, writing to his online blog, and generally sulking about.

As the dreaded date approached, time seemed to accelerate exponentially; weeks passed by in days, days in hours, hours in minutes, minutes in seconds. He seemed to lose all connection with the outside world as he watched the digital readout on his computer slowly tick away at the date.

On the 2nd of May, there came a pounding at his door.

"Mister Burns, I urgently need you to assist me down in the lobby!" Though he'd been out of touch with his neighbors in The Roscoe Complex, they were all still very familiar. Yet he could not place this voice, this raspy voice of a clearly elderly woman. And The Lobby? This complex didn't have a lobby. Outside his door were several hallways and staircases all connecting down to the Main Entrance and that in itself was no more than a hallway.

The pounding continued, "Mister Burns, it's dire that you help me now."

Approaching the door, he peered through the peephole and was immediately taken aback.

"That's not possible!" he said, as the pounding continued.

"Mister Burns!" the voice continued from behind his door. He regained his posture and approached the peephole and once more peered out into the empty hallway.

The door shook as the voice grew ever more urgent, "MISTER BURNS! It is _PLEASE_ assist me in the lobby!"

There was a loud crack at the door. Michael stumbled backwards, tripping over a chair and falling back into his computer desk. the door began to bulge outwards, splinters of wood spraying across his apartment floor and scrapping across his skin.

"MISTER BURNS! MISTER BURNS! MISTER BURNS!" the voice cried out as the door slammed its way across the room and crashed into the opposing wall, "MISTER BURNS!" despite the door being gone the knocking continued, and Michael coward.

And then there came a softer knocking, barely noticed amongst the louder phantom knocking.

"Oh, hello. Don't mind me, I'm just watching," Said the Man with the Bow tie as he pulled a small metal device from his pocket, "Very interesting this is. There's someone knocking but no one is… all we're missing is the 'nevermore!'"

The phantom voice continued to scream for Michael as the strange man's device cast a blue light and hissed at the door.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, right." He pocketed the device and produced an Identification Card that proclaimed: **United States Door Inspector**, "my names The Doctor and you are?"

"Michael Burns." He said sheepishly, raising his voice slightly as the pounding continued and the voice howled his name.

"Alright, Mike. Don't mind me, this will all be over with in a tick." With that he reached for the door, propping it up against the wall and turned the door handle. Instantly silence fell upon the room, "That fixes that. For now at least…" he turned to face Michael, "…Now, Michael, Mike, Mikey, I need you to tell me exactly what happened up to me getting here."

Mike explained.

"Alright, and you haven't done anything out of the norm, have you? Been to mars recently? Eaten any bad meat? Upset the local witch doctor?"

Michael shook his head.

"Well then, looks like we've got a bit of a mystery on our hands!"


	2. Part I

**2**

The engines of the TARDIS screeched into existence on the corner of South Street and Winter Drive. The Doctor burst through the doors, inhaling sharply as he knelt down to grab a hand full of grass.

"Welcome to America!" he said, taking another deep, exaggerated breath, "Texas to be specific…" He plucked one of the grass blades from his hand, tasted it before letting the others drift slowly to the ground, "Twenty-Thirty-Three. Early in the year too."

"Why are we here?" Amy asked as she strode casually out from the TARDIS, adjusting her hat to block out the sun. Behind her, Rory covered his eyes as he stepped into the bright Texas sun. All three of them scanned the surrounding area. There were several apartment complexes in this neighborhood, surrounded by half a dozen parks crowded by hundreds of children.

The Doctor cocked his head to the side, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Amy turned her head in the direction of The Doctor but he was already gone. Halfway down the street slamming through an apartment complexes front door.

"And there he goes…" She reached back to grab her husband's hand, shouting 'let's go!' as she forced him towards the apartment.

"What do you think you're doing in my apartment?" Asked Michael to The Doctor

"Haven't we already gone over this?" Questioned The Doctor as he once again pulled the Psychic Paper from his pocket, "I'm a member of The United States Door Inspectors, You've got a… faulty door I'm here to inspect it."

"How can a door be faulty?" Rory asked as he was tugged into the room behind Amy.

"I'm not quite sure but this one definitely is! I mean look at it," he braced the door frame back up against the wall and turned the handle to 'close' it. Immediately, there was a knock on the door, "That's just… creepy."

"Mr. Burns?" The Phantom Voice returned.

"Michael, why don't you do us a favor and reply to the mysterious stranger speaking to us from some other reality, buy me some time to figure out how to stop it." Said The Doctor, turning to Amy & Rory, "You two, go outside and check _EVERY_ door, make sure this is just a localized event. Otherwise we may be here a bit longer than I'd hope."

"Mr. Burns, Please answer your door."

The Doctor leaned against the door and peered through the peephole, "Interesting." He turned back to Amy and Rory, "Well? What are you two still doing here? Go knock some doors!"

"Hello Ma'am, I'm with the Health Department," Amy had procured a clipboard with some blank papers on it, "There's a gas leak in the building, nothing to worry about. But it may be causing some hallucinations and such. Have you experienced anything out of the norm?"

Doors One through Five all replied 'no' but door six, door six was different. They were in the opposing apartment complex from The Doctor and Michael, and this Apartment complex would be in the same location of this complex as Michaels.

"Actually, now that you mention it I have," Said this young woman, "My Bathroom door keeps opening and slamming shut and I swear I'm hearing someone call my name."

"Do you mind if we get a look?" asked Rory, she nodded her head.

The bathroom door was sealed shut when they got in the apartment. To Rory it looked like a normal every day toilet door.

"It looks fine to me," he said as he extended his hand to turn the handle. The moment the door cracked open, it flung inward and immediately slammed shut, accompanied by a familiar phantom voice screeching: "Mrs. Young! Please leave the door closed!"

"What do you want?" Michael asked the Phantom behind his severed door.

"I need your assistance down in the Lobby, Mr. Burns."

The Doctor was now perched backwards in an office chair, observing Michael and the Door Phantoms conversation. He idly toyed with his Sonic Screwdriver, occasionally standing up to peer through the peep hole or ask Michael a question.

"How are you doing this? You're behind my door but there's nothing behind my door? What do you want?" He asked, near pleading to the phantom.

"Mr. Burns please assist me in the lobby."

After nearly fifteen minutes of this The Doctor finally spoke: "I'm starting to think she can't say much… or doesn't want to say much. Either way, I've got a theory. Do you mind helping me with the door?" he grabbed one edge of the fractured door and gestured for Michael to grab the other, "let's put it back in the frame."

Once positioned poorly back in the door frame, the knocking continued. After the third round of knocks The Doctor, armed with his Screwdriver opened the door, and took a step outside the apartment.

"This is so bizarre!" Amy turned the handle again and the door flung open, slammed shut. A tick later and she repeated the process, handle turned, flung open, slammed shut.

"It's rather entertaining if you ask me." Rory said, taking his turn to turn the handle.

The Door flung open again and this time remained open. A dark lanky figure stood behind the door frame a faint blue light emanating from it hand.

"Doctor?" Both Amy and Rory jutted.

"Interesting."


	3. Part II

**Note: i'd like to thank you guys for the reviews... i know its been 2 years since the last part of the story was written and thus this section might be a bit off... but its the best i could do in my current life situation. Enjoy!

"The door appears to be working on a tertiary sub-matrix of..." The Doctor had once more closed the door, flashing the buzzing light of his Screwdriver along the cracks between the frame, "of..." he repeated.

"of what, Doctor?" Amy asked, she'd seen The Doctor stutter before—grasping for some answer that's locked in his infinite knowledge—and It usually was not a good sign.

"Of wood... It's just a door. A plane-old, run of the mill door."

"Run of the mill doors don't teleport, Doctor." Rory chimed in.

"I am well aware that doors don't teleport, Rory... It's wood. It can't teleport."

"And yet this one did." Said Amy, standing a safe distance from the _defective _door, "at least the voice's have stopped..."

"Yes... why have the voices stopped?" pondered The Doctor, "The Door that is not a door but clearly is a door is still a door... but the voices have stopped..."

The Young Woman—Amanda Richards—stared at The Doctor. The man had come out of her Bathroom! Those two nice health officials, the English sounding ones... hadn't they said something about hallucinations? Maybe she should ask them if its safe to be in the apartment.

"Excuse me," Ms. Richards said, approaching the health inspectors and the strange Bathroom Doctor, "But should I be in here? I'm not feeling all that well and..."

She suddenly felt hot—like the blood beneath her skin was boiling. Her vision faded slightly, tunnelling into darkness..

"I'm not feeling well and... and Mr. Burns!" she leaned against The Bathroom door, eyes still locked on her guests, "Mr. burns your assistance is required in the lobby!"

Rory reached out to touch her; placing his hand on her shoulder. The heat of her touch was immense, like touching fire.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" he said, noticing the dilation her eyes, "Ma'am?"

"Mr. Burns!" she continued on the Mantra of The Door, crying out to Mr. Burns...

"Why do you need Mr. burns?" The Doctor asked, moving Rory out of the way, locking eyes with the young woman, staring into her pittless eyes, "what sort of assistance do you need? Maybe I can help you..."

"MR. BURNS, YOUR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED IN THE LOBBY." the woman shouted, at the top of her lungs. She shoved off The Doctor's gaze and flung toward the bathroom door, turning the handle and opening a portal to immense darkness. She fell through, The Doctor lunged after her, trying to catch her but only managing to catch a glimpse of the falling black shadow and the screams for Mr. Burns.

The Doctor turned away. Looking from the door to Amy and Rory.

"Maybe we should go have a word with this Mr. Burns.'


	4. Part III

The door was silent, and Michael Burns was jubilant over that fact. It was almost enough to numb the fact that in less than twenty-four hours, all he ever knew and everything he loved would come to a grinding halt. Nothing could stop that, he knew…

But then there was that funky Door Inspector—who'd ever heard of a door inspector? And on top of that, why would a doctor be inspecting doors? Michael suspected the man was more than what he was… actually it was more than a suspicion. He was certain he'd seen this Doctor before… but from where? He could not remember.

"Mr. Burns," came the fast paced voice, cocky voice of the devil himself, "I do believe we need to have a little chat…" The Door Inspector propped himself against the Door Frame.

"You're right, we do…" Michael said, looking the man in his face, "Who are you? Really?"

In response the man flashed his badge again: **United States Door Inspector.**

"That's good and all, but who in there right mind's ever heard of a door inspector? That's a fake… it's got to be."

"You're right, you caught me. I'm lying…"

"Who are you?"

"Who I am is not very important right now, what is important is who _you_ are… why is it they keep asking for you? How they know you?"

The Doctor once again began inspecting The Door—that funny buzzy blue flashlight in his hand.

"I don't know how they know me… Maybe they just read my mailbox."

"Yes… maybe they just read your mailbox. Except the fact that I'm not even sure these things are even capable of reading. They seem to just repeat the same phrase over and over again and it all points back to you Mr. Burns. So once again I ask, how do they know you? Wait… do you hear that?"

Michael didn't… but apparently The Doctor did, because he cupped a hand to his ear, and leaned against the door; completely rapt by the unknown noise. A moment passed and The Doctor began to tap rhythmically against the door. Michael realized he was tapping Morse Code.

"There's someone on the other side," The Doctor Said

"Maybe it's the woman—and that thing—from the other apartment?" Rory suggested.

"I don't think so," The Doctor said, "This is something new… something different. Why would they be quiet now? No… they wouldn't, they're not capable of quiet; They want our attention… why? Maybe they can't live without it?"

"What in Gods Green Earth are you talking about?" Michael said, looking at The Doctor and his companions once more through suspicious eyes.

"And you still have not answered my question!" The Doctor turned to Michael again, invading his personal space. Michael felt his hot, odd smelling breath against his face.

"Because I can't answer your question! I don't know how they know me! I don't even recognize the voi—" Michael stopped. Something clicked in his brain, "I don't even know the voice."

"What was that?" the doctor asked.

"What was what?"

"You stuttered… why did you stutter?" The Doctor said, now studying Michaels face.

"I didn't stutter."

"Um, yes you did!" Amy said from the hallway, "We heard you, did we?"

"Uh-Yes, we heard you!" Rory replied after an elbow to the side.

"What do you know?" the doctor said.

"Nothing!"


End file.
